


Dear John and Other Theses

by Reccea



Series: The Best Things in Life Are Free (by Smittywing) [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-15
Updated: 2010-10-15
Packaged: 2017-10-12 16:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/126880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reccea/pseuds/Reccea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That's the kind of love letters John guessed you got when you dated Rodney McKay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dear John and Other Theses

**Author's Note:**

> Blame and beta thanks go to Smittywing. She's working on a [Can't Buy Me Love AU](http://www.livejournal.com/users/smittywing/199418.html#cutid1) and this story is a take-off of that. Set a few years later of course, with John off doing his duty for his country and Rodney making people miserable at grad school. ;)

The letters most people send to their boyfriends away at war go something like, "You're brave, you're doing the right thing, I love you, you look hot in a uniform." John knows. He's seen those kinds of letters come for every guy he knows here.

John doesn't get letters quite like that. He once got a list of 100 reasons wars are asinine. He's gotten a thirty page paper on Vietnam and a fifteen page paper on the War of 1812-ten pages of which were dedicated to America's failed attempt to invade Canada. He got a Canadian flag. He's received more than one doctoral thesis and several books on quantum physics with one Rodney McKay either mentioned or having contributed to.

That's the kind of love letters John guessed you got when you dated Rodney McKay. Which was fine. He preferred them anyway.

The letters his friends sent back varied from guy to guy. Some of them, John knew, wrote little confessionals about what war was really like and how much they miss the taste of fresh ice cream. Some guys just wrote things they thought would make their loved ones feel better.

John wrote papers refuting all of Rodney's war claims. He made a list of 100 reasons why Rodney was wasting his life trying to become Mr. Spock. John also drew representational graphs for the theses.

He read every book and made notes along the edges of half the pages. Some were stupid comments about this doctor's poor use of grammar, some little coded notes that sounded absolutely mean but really meant 'I love you' in a language only Rodney spoke. He always underlined the parts he knew were Rodney verbatim. He bought a book there and translated all the words he knew so that Rodney would be learning along with him.

He didn't know what to do with the flag and he almost sent it back but that just seemed kind of mean. There are dozens of rules about what can and can't be done with a flag so John doesn't stick it with his underwear. He mails it to his aunt with a note to put the package in his storage facility, please.

He figures someday, when he's retired and drinking pina-coladas on some nice beach while Rodney complains about sunstroke, he'll let Rodney fly it in front of their house.


End file.
